Catherine Debrunner

Catherine Debrunner

File:Catherine Debrunner - 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships.jpg Debrunner at the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships
Personal information
Born	(1995-04-11) 11 April 1995 Mettendorf TG
Education	Thurgau University of Education
Medal record Women's para-athletics Representing Switzerland World Championships 2019 Dubai 400m T53 2023 Paris 5000m T54 2023 Paris 400m T53 2023 Paris 800m T53 2023 Paris 1500m T54 2015 Doha 200m T53 2019 Dubai 800m T53 2023 Paris 100m T53

Catherine Debrunner (born 11 April 1995) is a Swiss athlete and teacher. She has competed for Team Switzerland at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships where she won a gold and silver medal.

Early life

Debrunner was born on 11 April 1995 in Mettendorf, Switzerland. Due to a birth defect in her spine, she uses a wheelchair. While attending a sports camp in Nottwil, she met her future trainer and coach Paul Odermatt.

Career

Debrunner competed in the T53 200 metres at the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships, where she earned a silver medal with a time of 30.64. She qualified for the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio, where she finished seventh in the Women's 400 metres.

Debrunner subsequently took a break from sports to focus on her education before returning to Team Switzerland for the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships. In Dubai, she earned a gold medal in the Women's 400m T53 and a silver medal in the women's 800m T53 race.

At the 2022 Berlin Marathon, Debrunner, competing in her first marathon won the race with a time of 1:36:47, beating five-time winner Manuela Schär's streak of five Berlin Marathon wins.

In May 2023, Debrunner was awarded the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability award.